Thomas J. Masenga has joined the Los Angeles office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as a partner in the firm's Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental practice group. Masenga joins from Seyfarth Shaw.

Masenga has more than 35 years of experience representing pension funds and their separate account advisors, commingled funds, banks, life insurance companies, private equity funds, REITs and other institutional real estate investors and lenders. His finance and capital markets practice has included advising on portfolio, syndicated and mezzanine loan originations, restructurings and foreclosures, the acquisition and disposition of performing and non-performing loan portfolios, revolving credit facilities, and repurchase agreements for real estate mortgage loans. Masenga has been recognized as a leading lawyer in the area of real estate law by Chambers USA and Legal 500. He is recognized nationally for his expertise in structuring and closing complex real estate transactions for institutional clients and is a frequent lecturer on real estate investment and financing.

"Tom is one of the best known real estate lawyers in Los Angeles. He has a successful practice representing a variety of pension funds and other real estate investment firms on financing and capital markets transactions," said Jon W. Newby, vice chairman of Sheppard Mullin.

"I am excited to join Sheppard Mullin and am impressed with the firm’s robust real estate practice, which includes construction, environmental and land use expertise. I was especially attracted to the firm’s full-service platform and significant footprint in Los Angeles and throughout the state, which are key to growing my practice further," Masenga commented.

"Tom is a top-notch real estate practitioner and an excellent addition to our formidable practice group. In particular, his skills are synergistic with our capabilities and he will further bolster our real estate industry presence in Los Angeles and beyond,” commented S. Keith Garner, co-chair of Sheppard Mullin’s Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental practice group.

Masenga received a J.D., cum laude, from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles in 1977 and a B.A., magna cum laude, from University of Notre Dame in 1974.

Sheppard Mullin has 240 attorneys based in its Los Angeles and Century City offices. The firm’s Real Estate, Land Use & Environmental practice group includes 80 attorneys firmwide.

About Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

Sheppard Mullin is a full service Global 100 firm with 770 attorneys in 15 offices located in the United States, Europe and Asia. Since 1927, companies have turned to Sheppard Mullin to handle corporate and technology matters, high stakes litigation and complex financial transactions. In the U.S., the firm's clients include more than half of the Fortune 100. For more information, please visit www.sheppardmullin.com.